Financial System Mediator

Updated: 05.06.2015

The protector of Your rights in financial market

The Office of Financial System Mediator (hereinafter Office) is a structure with independent managerial system, the founder of which is the Central Bank of Armenia. The Office was founded on July 17, 2008 in conformity with the RoA law on "Financial system Mediator”. It started its professional activity on January 24, 2009.

The Mediator’s office was created taking as a base the publicly recognized activity principles, which guarantee structure efficiency. Those principles include Impartiality, Efficiency and Justice.

The aims of the Office are to protect individual consumers’ rights and interests in the financial field, to consider their demands fast and free of charge, to raise public confidence in the financial system and to increase financial mediation.

The consumer can present a complaint/claim against following financial organizations acting in Armenia:

The Office is competent to consider demand-complaints of individuals, if the considered actions or inactions have taken place since August 2, 2008 and if they applied to the Mediator within 6 months after applying to the financial organization. Property claim must not exceed 10 million drams and the claim should be presented to the financial organization in advance.

Applying to the Mediator the customer loses nothing, as the services of Mediator are free of charge and the process of consideration is simple and short, without any procrastination. There is no need for an attorney. The decision of the Mediator does not carry a compulsory character; the customer can always apply to the court, if he/she does not agree with the decision of the Mediator.

The Mediator is reliable, as he/she has an independent managerial system, and it is financed by the financial organizations, and according to the law gets high salary, which guarantees impartial decision-making. Periodically announced reports guarantee transparency of the Mediator’s office activities. The customers are always given the opportunity of oral hearings, where the sides can bring corresponding directives and come down to a common denominator.

It is outside of the Mediator’s jurisdiction to consider the demand, if there is a verdict of the court or the arbitral tribunal about the same case or the demand is being under the consideration of the court or the arbitral tribunal.

Example of demands, which are under the Mediator’s competence to consider:

- The consumer made money transfer, the delay of which caused him/her money loss- The consumer insured his/her car and it was damaged because of an accident and the insurance company refused to compensate the loss- Some amount of money was exacted from the consumer’s credit account (i.e. plastic card) about which he/she had not been informed- In the consumer’s opinion, the credit institution or the bank made an error in computation the amount of monthly repayments/ credit interest.

Example of demands, which are outside of the Mediator’s competence to consider:

- The consumer requires the bank to postpone the maturity date of the interest payment mentioned in the credit contract.- The consumer is the third party injured in the insurance accident and requires recovery, but is not under treaty relations with the insurance company.- The credit organization or the bank refuses to make a loan.

The consumer is a depositor, creditor, etc. of a liquidated, bankrupted organization.